Salford head coach Ian Watson yesterday backed his players to stand firm as they wait to discover if owner Marwan Koukash is poised to walk away from the club.

Koukash, who brought the club back from the brink of financial disaster three years ago, has hinted that he may quit following his failure to overturn a points deduction for breaking the Super League salary cap.

A ruling by London-based independent arbitration service Sport Resolutions to uphold a six-point penalty, followed by a 40-14 defeat by Warrington on Thursday night, condemned the Red Devils to a bottom-four spot and a second successive battle to avoid relegation in the Qualifiers.

Koukash, who has fought a personal crusade against the Rugby Football League for most of his three years in the game, says he will sit down with his family to discuss his future and Watson hopes to hold his own talks with his chairman to get a clearer picture.

“That is something that will be discussed between myself and Tim (Sheens) and then we’ll probably have a chat with Marwan as well,” Watson said. “I’m sure Marwan will make his intentions clear to the playing group as well.”

Watson says he has much sympathy for Koukash and believes others should accept their share of blame for the club’s current plight.

“I agree that people who break the rules should be made accountable but I think there are more people involved in it,” he said.